Job 13:3

13:3 But I wish to speak ¹  to the Almighty, ² 

and I desire to argue ³  my case ⁴  with God.

Job 16:21

16:21 and ⁵  he contends with God on behalf of man

as a man ⁶  pleads ⁷  for his friend.

Job 40:1-5

Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge

40:1 Then the Lord answered Job:

40:2 “Will the one who contends ⁸  with the Almighty correct him? ⁹ 

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

40:3 Then Job answered the Lord:

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ¹⁰  – how could I reply to you?

I put ¹¹  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ¹² 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ¹³ 

Isaiah 26:8

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, ¹⁴ 

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 14:7

14:7 Then I said, ¹⁶ 

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name ¹⁷ 

even though our sins speak out against us. ¹⁸ 

Indeed, ¹⁹  we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

[13:3]  ¹ tn The verb is simply the Piel imperfect אֲדַבֵּר (’adabber, “I speak”). It should be classified as a desiderative imperfect, saying, “I desire to speak.” This is reinforced with the verb “to wish, desire” in the second half of the verse.

[13:3]  ² tn The Hebrew title for God here is אֶל־שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”).

[13:3]  ³ tn The infinitive absolute functions here as the direct object of the verb “desire” (see GKC 340 §113.b).

[13:3]  ⁴ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh), which means “to argue, plead, debate.” It has the legal sense here of arguing a case (cf. 5:17).

[16:21]  ⁵ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 240) alters this slightly to read “Would that” or “Ah! if only.”

[16:21]  ⁶ tn This is the simple translation of the expression “son of man” in Job. But some commentators wish to change the word בֵּן (ben, “son”) to בֵּין (ben, “between”). It would then be “[as] between a man and [for] his friend.” Even though a few mss have this reading, it is to be rejected. But see J. Barr, “Some Notes on ‘ben’ in Classical Hebrew,” JSS 23 (1978): 1-22.

[16:21]  ⁷ tn The verb is supplied from the parallel clause.

[40:2]  ⁸ tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”

[40:2]  ⁹ tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”

[40:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ¹¹ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ¹² tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[26:8]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.

[26:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

[14:7]  ¹⁶ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the Lord’s speech and the people have consistently refused to acknowledge their sin. The fact that the prayer here and in vv. 19-22 are followed by an address from God to Jeremiah regarding prayer (cf. 4:11 and the interchanges there between God and Jeremiah and 15:1) also argues that the speaker is Jeremiah. He is again identifying with his people (cf. 8:18-9:2). Here he takes up the petition part of the lament which often contains elements of confession of sin and statements of trust. In 14:1-6 God portrays to Jeremiah the people’s lamentable plight instead of their describing it to him. Here Jeremiah prays what they should pray. The people are strangely silent throughout.

[14:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.

[14:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”

[14:7]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).